And That's My Final Offer!

Doonesbury Annuals #18

by G.B. Trudeau

Vintage paperback

Genres: Comics, Humor, Comic Strips, Cartoon, Politics, Fiction, Graphic Novels

128 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 1, 1980

About the author

Garretson Beekman "Garry" Trudeau is an American cartoonist, best known for the Doonesbury comic strip. In 1970, Trudeau's creation of Doonesbury was syndicated by the newly formed Universal Press Syndicate. Today Doonesbury is syndicated to almost 1,400 newspapers worldwide and is accessible online in association with Slate Magazine at doonesbury.com. In 1975, he became the first comic strip artist to win a Pulitzer, traditionally awarded to editorial-page cartoonists. He was also a Pulitzer finalist in 1990. He was nominated for an Oscar in 1977 in the category of Animated Short Film, for A Doonesbury Special, in collaboration with John Hubley and Faith Hubley. A Doonesbury Special eventually won the Cannes Film Festival Jury Special Prize in 1978. Other awards include the National Cartoonists Society (NCS) Newspaper Comic Strip Award in 1994, and the Reuben Award in 1995. He was made a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1993. Wiley Miller, fellow comic-strip artist responsible for Non Sequitur, called Trudeau "far and away the most influential editorial cartoonist in the last 25 years." In addition to his work on Doonesbury, Trudeau has teamed with Elizabeth Swados and written plays, such as Rap Master Ronnie and Doonesbury: A Musical Comedy. In 1988, Trudeau joined forces with director Robert Altman for the HBO miniseries Tanner '88 and the Sundance Channel miniseries sequel Tanner on Tanner in 2004. In 1996, Newsweek and The Washington Post speculated that Trudeau wrote the novel Primary Colors, which was later revealed to have been written by Joe Klein. Trudeau wrote the political sitcom Alpha House, starring John Goodman and Bill Murray. The pilot was produced by Amazon Studios and aired in early 2013. Due to positive response Amazon has picked up Alpha House to develop into a full series.

Reviews

[Craig Werner · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Iranian hostage crisis, with Duke added to the mix; the Carter administration stumbles towards its demise; Joanie's daughter shows up, goes to college and is engaged to Zeke. Not my favorite Doonesbury volume--kind of tough revisiting that time--but it does feature one of my favorite Doonesbury sequences: the end of the decade 70s costume party, featuring the Front Four of the Pittsburgh Steelers, a Staggering Deficit, and the immortal toast to "a kidneystone of a decade." The problem being, of course, that the 80s were up next.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coming out in 1980 with strips from the second half of 1979. I thought the collection immediately preceding this one was a bit uninspired, but this one is back to the usual form. A couple of new characters are introduced who’ll be with the strip long term, JJ (Joanie Caucus’ daughter) and Zeke Brenner.

[Michael P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best of the DOONESBURY books I have read in the past few years, but it us hard to understand the reason. Has Trudeau upped his game, or have I upped mine in understanding? Do the incidents satirized better resonate? Very hard to say.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Always worth reading.

[David]

On the 5th tour through the entire Doonescape. It never fails.

[Manny · Rating 4 out of 5]

The hostage crisis is in full swing. Duke has been parachuted into Iran to make a covert payoff - it's all part of a nefarious scheme by Jim "Obscene Profits" Andrews. But everything goes wrong, and he's caught by the Revolutionary Guard and tried as a spy. They don't believe his defense that he was just a harmless tourist, and now he's about to be shot at dawn. In fact, he's already blindfolded and standing in front of the firing squad. But Duke wouldn't be Duke if he didn't keep on negotiating.

"Five hundred thousand dollars! In gold!" barks the Iranian colonel. Duke isn't fazed.

"Two hundred fifty thousand! And that's my final offer!" he replies.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

The seventies are way behind us, even to those of us who were there. However much of the topical humor is still relevant today. Although some of the celebrities' names have been forgotten, poking fun at the media’s coverage of the Iowa straw polls, global oil companies covert operations in Middle Eastern countries and the absurdities of Washington politics is still fair game and funny.
I find Doonesbury laugh-out-loud funny only occasionaly, but it’s not Garfield or Bloom County. It created its own genre, and must be judged by its own standards. Enjoyable, and worth a read.